


Eyes That Make Your Heart Forget How to Beat

by ReaperOfAngels



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-19
Updated: 2019-02-19
Packaged: 2019-10-15 18:09:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17533658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReaperOfAngels/pseuds/ReaperOfAngels
Summary: Adrien is 23 and while he no longer has either of his parents, he's doing okay. But, somehow, Marinette has creeped into his mind more and more often and it's starting to bother  him. He decides he needs to talk this out with someone, and who better than his best friend?Marinette may need someone to help her, too.





	Eyes That Make Your Heart Forget How to Beat

Do you ever look back on a day and wonder how you either had gotten into a situation or why you didn't do something you really should have?

Adrien, at the astounding age of twenty-three, ten years into being a superhero and no parents to speak of any longer after the arrest of his father, found himself contemplating things a lot more than he used to. He had so many memories of college, so many more memories of university, and somehow, his memories began and ended with one girl in particular.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

The beautiful daughter of a baker and his wife, klutz extraordinaire and still somehow one of the bravest people he knew. She was always tripping over herself and sometimes still got tongue-tied, but she could take charge and would do so without hesitation, and she was  _good_ at it. She would willingly defend complete strangers and hep evacuate them in case of emergency.

Marinette and her twin braided pigtails with the fading pink tufts at the end. Marinette and her porcelain-like skin with the smattering of freckles across her nose and all over her cheeks. Marinette and her bright blue eyes that always somehow got his heart to stop dead in its tracks and then kick up too wildly once it recalled how to function once more. 

Adrien had wondered for a long while when Marinette started doing that to his poor, poor heart, but after recalling what he could about her, he figured it just... had always been there.

After all, why had he cared about what Marinette thought about him on that first day? Sure, he was new, naive, and wanted as many friends as possible, but her opinion of him wouldn't have been the end of the world if it happened to be bad.

Why had he been so quick to defend her and be there for her when Nathaniel was akumatized? She was his friend, and a civilian, but they didn't know each other that well, and she certainly hadn't known Chat Noir at all before that time.

Why was he so eager to be Marinette's translator for her uncle?

...

Why had he been so hesitant to kiss Chloe for that silly school film, but not hesitant at all to kiss Marinette, of all people?

Thoughts of all this often made him feel dizzy and unsure of himself, not knowing what to do with a lot of it and also making him feel torn.

He wasn’t really in love with Ladybug anymore, not that he could tell. He hadn’t seen her in nearly five years and sure, while that first year of no more meetups with his favorite heroine had been brutal to his psyche, what with him having just become a legal adult and no longer any parents to help guide him through college or adulthood. He wasn’t able to see one of the only people that had managed to keep him steady and sane. Sure, there were other people, _like Marinette,_  his brain supplied helpfully, but she did the majority of the sanity-keeping, even if she didn’t know it. He had kept coming out as Chat Noir, but she had stopped all together. After Hawkmoth was arrested, it was clear that she was done.

He couldn’t quite recall why she was just done instantly. He was devastated when he found out his father was Hawkmoth, but after it was all dealt with aside from the police unable to locate Adrien (ironic), she seemed off. He didn’t know many personal things about Ladybug, but she sometimes displayed a weird knowledge of fabrics and string and sewing techniques. He could only wonder.

And he remembered, as Chat Noir, going to visit Marinette the day after the arrest. She was in a similar state. Off. Awkward. When he asked what was wrong she had just brushed him off awkwardly. His nightly visits to her were never that awkward, but he figured it might be because Gabriel had been one of her idols. It would be awkward to find out someone you were aiming to be was a supervillain. 

So he stopped visiting her as Chat after a few nights of the awkwardness, and started talking to her as Adrien.

And after she got over her stutter, they hit it off well, as he assumed they would. The times they had talked before had been decent, but when she got comfortable, she was a great conversationalist. Not to mention that, as Chat, he knew a lot about her already and found talking to her easy, something he could do without hesitating. She soon fell into a similar rhythm. 

She taught him how to cook, how to bake, how to do some basic sewing techniques so he could help her occasionally, she let him model some of her clothes and found it fun (he had always thought she was a great designer, and getting to wear her designs made him feel light and happy. She had never let him model for her as Chat, so it was something he greatly enjoyed). She even indulged him in some video games when she had the extra time, even though she always beat him. She was something of a safe haven for him, even if her eyes made his heart perform back flips.

Thinking on them, now, her eyes really reminded him of Ladybug's. It was hard to recall details about Ladybug because of the magic from the Miraculous, but he had always remembered her eyes, clear as day. People often got into fights about what Ladybug and Chat Noir looked like since details never stuck.

But while he couldn't really recall how she wore her hair, or sometimes he forgot what her suit looked like exactly, her eyes always stuck to him. Those sparkly blue eyes that could make any little kid smile, assure any adult that everything will be alright, instill confidence in a new hero any time it was required. She had that affect on people, and so did Marinette.

Maybe it was because of Ladybug that he got so flustered around her. Because she reminded him of her he found himself falling for her. If that was the case, then he needed to stop. He couldn't just fall in love with her because she  _reminded_ him of someone he  _used_ to love. That would be rude, indecent, it would make him feel like a complete asshole.

Maybe he needed to see Ladybug again. See if it stirred up any emotions.

Maybe he needed to visit Marinette as someone else. And see how she reacted.

* * *

Chat tapped on Marinette's skylight quietly and he watched as the girl in the bed practically jumped out of her skin, and she looked up. Her eyes went wide and her jaw fell open slightly, and he heard another voice speak up.

"Mari? What's wrong?"

Shit. It was Alya.

"N-Nothing! Just - give me a sec!"

Marinette scrambled up and pushed the skylight open, looking at him with her wide blue eyes like she couldn't believe he was actually here. He smiled and waved shyly, leaning back to sit on his rear, his legs criss-crossing.

"Hey, Princess. Long time no see."  _You're a liar. You saw her this morning._

"Mari? Who's that?"

"N-No one, Alya! I'll be right down!" She scrambled up out of the skylight and onto the balcony, closing the light and then turning to him. She reached up and gently cupped his face, and Chat was already purring.

"Kitty, what are you doing here? Out and about like this? Hawkmoth isn't around anymore, you don't need to be out here."

Chat smiled. "I just missed you, princess. Don't freak out. May I come in? I know ladyblogger is in there, but I don't mind."

Marinette licked her lips slowly, looking to the trap door, then back at him. She paused for a long moment before sighing. "Yeah, just - probably don't indulge her too much."

They crawled back through the trap door. Alya was at the desk when he touched down onto the floor.

"So who's this no on-" Alya turned around in the desk chair but was cut off by her own shock, her jaw dropping and her eyes wide, staring at Chat like he had four heads and twenty arms. Marinette climbed down and giggled awkwardly, rubbing her arm slowly. 

"Alya... Chat Noir. Chat Noir, Alya. Uhhh..." She shrugged. "He's just visiting, so try not to overload him-"

"YOU'RE BACK?!" She squealed before jumping up and hugging onto Chat tightly. Chat stumbled back a little bit, laughing as he caught Alya and hugged her lightly. 

"Well hello to you too, Alya. I'm glad to see you're doing okay. Missed this gig?"

"Yeeessss, you have no idea." 

Marinette looked between the two as Alya separated herself from Chat, beaming up at him. "So, what brings the famed ~Chat Noir~ out to a young girl's bedroom this late at night? Couldn't be looking for a booty call, surely?" She grinned as Chat's face turned red and he shook his head quickly.

"NO, no, nothing like that, I assure you. I used to visit Marinette before the arrest, and we'd just... hang out, you know? I'm... I was her friend." He said slowly and smiled a bit awkwardly. "But, that's not why I'm here. I was going to drop by you next anyway if this didn't turn up anything, so I guess this makes this easier." He rubbed the back of his neck.

Alya and Marinette both looked at him strangely and he could feel their curiosity eating at them before Alya even opened her mouth. "What's up, Chat? You seem tense."

"Yeah... because I what I came to look for is kind of hard to find. After all, she's kept herself from us for a decade, right?" He smiled weakly. "I'm looking for Ladybug."

* * *

Nothing. Nothing. How could they know nothing? Alya was the ladyblogger, for god's sakes, if anything about Ladybug popped up  _she_ would surely know. And Marinette, well for some reason he just felt that she was definitely know if Ladybug had been out, but he wasn't sure why. So he just told them that if they saw her, to send her to the Eiffel Tower, and that he'd go there every night for an hour at 10 PM. What else was he supposed to do? It wouldn't take long for word of his reappearance to get out, especially with him visiting all his school friends and asking for them to keep a lookout, so this was just the fastest way for her to know.

So that's what he did.

That first night? Nothing.

The second? Still, nothing 

The third, though...

* * *

Chat sat perched on the railing, basking in the night air. He missed this. Feeling the wind brush his hair back and run over his scalp, the feel of the leather stretching over his claws. He had already gotten used to the quiet and it was almost eleven, and he was about to resign himself to another night of his lady not coming to him. The message had surely gotten across to all of Paris at this point, he even saw a brief two minute segment about it yesterday on the news with Nadja. He heard people talking about it on the street.

So when he heard feet touch down to his right, he flinched and reacted immediately.

He turned around and pounced on whoever decided to come and disturb his waiting, already growling as he pinned them down before his eyes locked with blue ones and he froze, his eyes going wide.

Bright, wide blue eyes, dark hair pulled back into an elegant braid, pale skin that he found so familiar even though he couldn't place it. Her blue eyes popped even more from the red of her mask, and as soon as he realized that she was wearing a mask he yelped and jumped back.

"M-My lady!"

Ladybug blinked slowly up at the empty air, then began to giggle, slowly sitting up and leaning back on her hands, looking at him. 

"Nice reaction time, kitty. Have you been fighting crime all on your lonesome without me? I don't think I'm nearly as sharp anymore." She giggled.

Chat just stared, feeling his heart skip beats periodically. He felt his face getting hot and he just  _knew_ the look on his face was this stupid, dumbfounded, lovesick stare. Five years of pain and suppressing really does a number on someone.

When he realized she had said something, he was quick to respond. 

"N-No, uhhh... I just... started transforming regularly again three days ago."

"Ah. Right. So, everyone says you wanted to see me again?" She smiled. "It even made headlines on the news. You've caused quite the stir on the news, kitty."

Chat shook his head. "Well, I don't exactly know who you are, I couldn't just go up to you directly. And if I could, I wouldn't have any need to call you out here, and stuff." He rubbed the back of his neck and smiled. "I'd just go see you."

Ladybug stared, a confused look on her face, before she broke out into a grin. "Aww, kitty, you haven't missed me, have you?"

"Of course I have, m'lady. That isn't even a question you should have to ask." He smiled and shook his head. "But, I also... have a mild dilemma." He looked down at his lap. Ladybug frowned and scooted closer until their knees bumped together, face to face, and too close for his brain to function properly.

"Go ahead. You know I'm always willing to listen."

Chat looked up at her and then back down at his lap, gathering his bearings and trying not to think about how close she actually was. He fidgeted. "Well, you see, there's this girl..."

"A girl?"

"Yeah. You- I think you know her, actually. And I've been having some moral issues with... with liking her."

"Hm? Why's that?"

"Well, I feel... selfish. A bit like an asshole, really. I like her, a lot, but I think I only like her because she reminds me of you, and I have issues with that."

Ladybug frowned and messed with her braid a little, looking up at her again. "I can see why you would have issues with that. I wouldn't want a guy liking me if he only did so because I reminded him of someone else."

"Exactly. And, you know, it's been five years since we last saw each other, and I wasn't getting all lovesick and daydreamy at the thought of you anymore. I sort of figured it had worn off. I wanted to see you, to see if I still liked you. I... and I guess I sort of do." He chuckled a bit breathlessly and he could see Ladybug blush, even though he wasn't looking right at her.

Ladybug was quiet for a long moment. "... if you're willing to, would you tell me her name?"

"Of course. Her name is Marinette."

Ladybug stiffened and a sort of squeak left her, her eyes wide. "I- what? Marinette? Like, Marinette Dupain-Cheng?"

"I thought you knew her. Yes, that Marinette. We've been going to school together since forever ago, and I've had a sort of crush on her for like the past three years or something? But she reminds me a lot of you, and I really don't want to do that to her if that's the case, so I've just been... waiting." He shrugged, sighing as he quietly pulled on his own hair, a nervous habit he had picked up by accident.

"So... you know each other in your civilian lives, but she doesn't know you as Chat?"

"Oh, no. She knows me as Chat. I'm... I  _was_ her friend as Chat Noir. But, after the arrest of my... of Hawkmoth, of Gabriel A-Agreste, she started acting really awkward around me. And I sort of got it - she's aiming to be a famous fashion designer one day, something I'm sure she'll get easily. Gabriel was one of her idols, someone she aspired to be like. I would feel pretty bad, too, if someone I wanted to be turned about to be this awful person with bad intentions, even if those intentions were meant to get to a goal that could be considered good. So, after she started acting awkward around me, I stopped visiting her as Chat and made friends with her as my civilian self. It was a little weird, because I could talk freely around her while she seemed tongue-tied and a bit silly." He chuckled a little and sighed. "And I already knew so much about her. I knew about all the designs in every one of her sketchbooks, I knew each and every designer she liked and took inspiration from, I knew her favorite snacks, which robot she liked to play as in UMSIII and VI, and I also knew what her favorite movies and TV shows were and had gushed about them with her before.  It was like relieving conversations and seeing the same reactions to things that, as my civilian self, should have had no knowledge of." He chuckled again and leaned to the side, resting on the railing. "But I did learn new things about her. She used to play violin, but gave it up when her designing started taking up too much of her time. She still has the violin - it's this beautiful green, completely made out of wood, instead of the plastic they tend to make them out of now. Some of the wood's color has faded, but it just makes it prettier, and it still works perfectly fine. She also did some writing featuring some of her designs that are extremely good, but she had hardly any time for writing. She's surprisingly good at the yo-yo, but you have to beg her to get her to show you." He laughed.

Ladybug was watching him, this look on her face that he could only describe as 'pleasantly surprised.' He wondered absently if the two of them were good friends in real life, like he, as Chat, is good friends with Marinette as a civilian even though she doesn't know its him. Maybe they were clueless to one another.

"Well, it certainly sounds like you like her." She giggled out and leaned on the main tower, opposite to him with her feet by his hip and her eyes staring into his.

"What do you think I should do? I don't want to hurt her, but I don't want to lose her either. I don't want to just stop being friends with her. That didn't work, even with you. It never did." He looked up to the night sky. It was easy to see the stars up here, unlike down below where the light polluted the sky above the rooftops. Up here, it was dark, and perfect for any stargazing you wanted to do.

"Yeah. I know it didn't, kitty." She tapped him lightly with her foot and sighed. "But girls can surprise you, Chat. Maybe she's not who you think she is."

"Maybe she isn't." He agreed, which made Ladybug jump and look at him with surprise. He just shrugged. "Hawkmoth wasn't who I thought he was. Neither was my... guardian." He cringed a little and shook his head. "I didn't expect Hawkmoth to have such a sad tale, and I didn't expect my guardian to have such a malice to them. Maybe I don't know everything I should about Marinette to make an educated decision about this. But I decided you were a good person just by looking at you, and I was right. I decided I was in love with you on that very first day, and this feeling hasn't gone away since. Maybe it's crazy of me to be in love with you, maybe it's completely stupid of me to be in love with Marinette. And while the people I don't know everything about tend to be bad, I think..." He looked up to the stars again. "With you, and with Marinette... somehow, I know that once I do learn everything about you, you two will be even more extraordinary than I had ever imagined."


End file.
